A great number of people suffer from the chronic anguish of psoriasis. Irregularly shaped and slightly raised dull red blotches appear on the sufferer's skin. These characteristic patches of psoriasis are covered by grayish or silvery scales which, if scratched, will peel and flake off like dandruff The lesions of psoriasis, which in the early stages can be misdiagnosed as ringworm, may appear anywhere on the body, although psoriasis does afflict certain parts of the body more than others, such as the scalp (psoriasis of the scalp is often mistaken for dandruff), elbows, knees and the trunk of the body.
The medical profession ascribes no definite cause to this embarrassing and unsightly disease, and no effective treatment has been offered. This vexatious scaling disease forces its sufferers to try everything in the dermatologist's chemical arsenal--tar, mercury, chrysarobin and phenol. These may bring some measure of transient relief, but recurrent outbreaks are the necessary outcome. In some instances, dermatologists even resort to X-ray therapy, which carries the obvious risk of dangerous side effects.
Unfortunately, one of the medications in current use that brings the most relief, also exacts the highest price in side effects; it is methotrexate, a highly toxic, anticancer drug which is known to cause severe liver damage. Conceived for the treatment of leukemia, this drug, an antimetabolite, has been used against psoriasis. While the drug is recommended only for severe, recalcitrant cases of psoriasis, it was reported that it can cause severe liver damage including cirrhosis.
Other drugs frequently prescribed are steroids, such as ACTH (a synthetic hormone) and cortisone and their derivatives. These sometimes lead to problems far worse than the original ailment; for example, steroids often lead to severe recurrences of the original conditions and adverse reactions and cortisone causes urinary losses of calcium and phosphorous, resulting in demineralization of the bones. An added problem with steroid therapy is severe depression; it invites ulcers and adrenal exhaustion with a subsequent drain on recuperative powers.
There is one known and successfully tried "drug", however, that has the approval of the FDA, but is rarely prescribed by physicians. It is the topical application of vitamin A acid. The advantages of vitamin A acid for psoriasis were first observed in double-blind controlled studies at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Doctors discovered that vitamin A in its acid form brought some relief from the itching and unsightliness of psoriasis in many patients and these effects were noticeable after a relatively short treatment (Journal of the American Medical Association, Mar. 10, 1969).
Physicians are known to have given 200,000 vitamin A units daily for six months, according to the Journal of Pediatrics (Vol. 31,496, 1947) without observing any signs of toxicity Such elevated quantities are being deemed needed, however, because vitamin A (which is already in the blood and which is stored in the liver and other body tissues) is quickly destroyed by oxygen, according to the Biochemical Journal (Vol. 34, page 1321, 1940).